“It’s like hot potato/musical chairs, but with a penis,” said the girl leading the group.
The teenagers, the girl explained, would pass a plastic, life-size penis around the circle. Whoever was holding it when the music stopped would have to unroll a condom onto it, completing each of the eight steps they had been taught a few minutes earlier.
Uh... 8 steps? My education was a bit lacking I think.
But the picture is more complicated when it comes to the high STD rates among minorities. Gay and bisexual men make up the vast majority of new syphilis cases. In L.A. County, syphilis rates among African American women are six times higher than white women and three times higher than Latina women.
Northover said that officials need to evaluate what’s called structural or systemic racism, the way housing or education policies may negatively impact people and their health. Studies have found, for example, that people with HIV who had low levels of literacy were less likely to follow their treatment, and that poorer Americans were more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior, increasing their risk of STDs.
STDs in L.A. County are skyrocketing. Officials think racism and stigma may be to blame
Do you agree? systemic racism is a factor?
“This is such a natural human interaction, and yet it’s so stigmatized,” said Valerie Coachman-Moore, who oversees WeCanStopSTDsLA, the coalition of advocates that put on the event. “People are having sex? Yeah.”
Many say the silence around sex plays a big role in young people’s high rates of STDs. Many feel uncomfortable walking into an STD clinic or talking to their partners about safe practices.
Should we all become more open about sex around teenagers?
The teenagers, the girl explained, would pass a plastic, life-size penis around the circle. Whoever was holding it when the music stopped would have to unroll a condom onto it, completing each of the eight steps they had been taught a few minutes earlier.
Uh... 8 steps? My education was a bit lacking I think.
Northover said that officials need to evaluate what’s called structural or systemic racism, the way housing or education policies may negatively impact people and their health. Studies have found, for example, that people with HIV who had low levels of literacy were less likely to follow their treatment, and that poorer Americans were more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior, increasing their risk of STDs.
STDs in L.A. County are skyrocketing. Officials think racism and stigma may be to blame
Do you agree? systemic racism is a factor?
“This is such a natural human interaction, and yet it’s so stigmatized,” said Valerie Coachman-Moore, who oversees WeCanStopSTDsLA, the coalition of advocates that put on the event. “People are having sex? Yeah.”
Many say the silence around sex plays a big role in young people’s high rates of STDs. Many feel uncomfortable walking into an STD clinic or talking to their partners about safe practices.
Should we all become more open about sex around teenagers?
